This review of Die Wiener Moderne in slawischen Periodika der Jahrhundertwende, a volume of essays from a two-day conference in Vienna in 2004. The reviewer divides the essays into two sections. The first comprises discussions of its reception in Russian periodicals (by Helga Ottinger, “Vesy,” Rosemarie Ziegler, “Severnyj vestnik,” Eva Hausbacher, “Mir Iskusstva,” Stefan Simonek, “Zolotoe runo,” and Fedor B. Poljakov, “Apollon”), which did not reflect the difference between Jungstes Deutschland and Jung-Wien, and the Wiener Moderne was therefore perceived as part of German culture. The second part considers the reception of the Wiener Moderne in periodicals published in Austria-Hungary (Stephan Simonek, “Literaturno-naukovyj visnyk,” Jolanta Krzysztoforska-Doschek, “Chimera,” Alois Woldan, “Zycie,” and Gertraude Zand, “Moderní revue”), where, by contrast, the polarity between Modernism of Vienna and Germany was distinctly perceived, owing, among other things, to the promotion of this polarity by the Austrian critic, novelist, and playwright Hermann Bahr (1863–1934).
The article highlights the biography and scholarly work of Doctor of History, Professor of Uzhhorod National University, a member of our yearbook editorial board Evgen Bevzyuk
To sum up, it can be stated that the ethnic group called Rusins settled down continuously in the territory of the present Transcarpathia from the 6th century. There were interruptions in the process and the amount of them changed several times. Apparently, they didn’t belong to the Eastern Slavs. This process was accelerated from the 14th century but from this time we have to speak about the Eastern Slavs.
On 30 IX 1880 Pope Leo XIII promulgated his encyclical Grande munus in which he recalled the history and the effects of missionary activity carried out among the Slavs in the second half of the ninth century by saints Cyril and Methodius. He also expressed his interest in the unification of the Slavic nations and the creation of a spiritual unity which would bring together Western and Eastern Christianity. On 2 VI 1985, Pope John Paul II, referring to Grande munus promulgated the encyclical Slavorum Apostoli. He deemed the Holy Brothers to be a role model for contemporary Christians, and forerunners of ecumenism, dialogue, enculturation and creation of community in a social environment full of conflicts and divisions. According to the Pope’s view, the continuity of the work done by Cyril and Methodius may save contemporary Europe from forgetting its Christian roots, from denying Christian values and the culture connected with Christianity. As John Paul II maintains, it is the Slavs, especially the Poles, who have a special role in saving Christian Europe. The author does not conceal that she is skeptical about the interest of contemporary Slavs in this evangelization mission seen as continuing the work of the Holy Brothers. She doubts that it can be effective. In view of deep divisions and conflicts among the modern Slavs, of their lack of unity, as well as of a general rejection of Christian values, which can be noticed among those nations as well, it is difficult to see the Slavs as an example of unity among nations and as a model for contemporary Europe. In this multicultural world, those who wish to follow in the footsteps of the Holy Brothers are a definite minority, which has neither the support of their own ethnic/national group nor that of other populations on our continent.
Slavs in the European reflection of Iberia. Overview and perspectivesThe author focuses on presenting the major determinants of the ways in which Slavs have been included/excluded within the European horizon on the part of the inhabitants of the Iberian Peninsula, from Modernity until present-day Iberian-Slavonic cultural encounters. This subject-matter is considered in two of its aspects – on the one hand, newest research trends are discussed; on the other, the author analyses Iberian literary and journalist texts on attitudes towards Slavs.The place Iberians reserved in their reflections on Europe for Slavs – especially from Russia, Poland and the Balkans – was at different times determined by two types of factors: those immanent to any process of “reading the Other,” and those arising from the abundance of ethnic, political and/or national perspectives in which Slavs could present themselves. As a result, ethnic and cultural aspects of Slavonic countries in the common knowledge of Iberians are mixed up with their geographical, national and political connections (as “Eastern Europeans”, “Balkans”, “countries of the former Eastern Bloc and/or Yugoslavia” etc.). Another factor influencing the general trends in the perception of Slavs is geographical distance, making this group an easy target for stereotyping and mythicizing. A category determining the Iberian “reading” of Slavs is also that of the periphery, a notion important (though in different ways) for both the analysed regions. The complex nature of Iberians’ identity had an impact on their relations with Slavs in the 19th and 20th centuries; the resulting attitude, marked as it is by the inferiority/superiority question, was expressed particularly strongly around the process of the 5th EU Enlargement (mid-1990s to 2004), which sealed the emergence of closer Iberian-Slavonic relations intra muros, dating back at least from the collapse of the USSR. These relations were initiated by migrants from the East (who featured in new motives taken up by Iberian literatures), predominantly Ukrainians. Outside of the Peninsula, intercultural encounters took place not in small part as a result of a rapid eastward expansion of Iberian business. Finally, the 21st century saw the establishment and theoretical elaboration of Iberian-Slavonic comparative research. Activities of this kind always imply intercultural encounters and thus are well suited to help work out a scholarly and cultural formula that could yield more coherent depictions of Slavs. The newly founded associations, institutions, research and cultural centres – while respecting the complex identity of each of the Slavonic nations – present to their Iberian partners an image of united Slavs. It is this trend that allows the author to move forward the analysis, and proceed from “overview” to “perspectives.” Słowianie w europejskiej refleksji Iberii. Przegląd i perspektywy Autorka artykułu skupia się na przedstawieniu głównych uwarunkowań sposobów włączania/wyłączania Słowian z europejskiej perspektywy przez mieszkańców Półwyspu Iberyjskiego w okresie od nowożytności po współczesne iberyjsko‑słowiańskie doświadczenia kulturowe. Zagadnienia te prezentuje w dwu aspektach, z jednej strony wskazuje najnowsze kierunki badań w tej dziedzinie, z drugiej – analizuje iberyjskie teksty literackie i dziennikarskie poświęcone postawom wobec Słowian.Miejsca wyznaczane Słowianom przez mieszkańców Półwyspu Iberyjskiego w ich europejskiej refleksji – przy szczególnej pozycji zarezerwowanej dla Rosji, Polski i Bałkanów – bywały determinowane dwoma typami czynników, immanentnymi wobec każdego procesu czytania Obcego, jak również wynikającymi ze szczególnej mieszaniny etnicznych, politycznych i/oraz narodowych perspektyw, w jakich mogli się zaprezentować Słowianie. W efekcie etniczne i kulturowe cechy krajów słowiańskich mieszają się w przeciętnej wiedzy mieszkańców Półwyspu Iberyjskiego z innymi odniesieniami: geograficznymi, narodowymi i politycznymi (jak „wschodni Europejczycy”, „Bałkany”, kraje byłego „bloku wschodniego” itd.). Wśród ogólnych nurtów recepcji można również wskazać wpływ dystansu geograficznego, który czyni ze Słowian łatwy cel stereotypizacji i mityzacji. Kolejna kategoria determinująca iberyjskie „czytanie” Słowian to peryferyjność, kwestia istotna (choć w różny sposób) dla obu analizowanych obszarów. Złożoność tożsamości iberyjskiej miała również wpływ na relacje ze Słowianami w XX i XXI wieku. Silniej ta postawa, tak naznaczona problematyką wyższości/niższości, ujawniła się w okresie piątego rozszerzenia Unii Europejskiej (połowa lat dziewięćdziesiątych ubiegłego wieku do 2004 roku), które pieczętowało proces bliższych iberyjsko‑słowiańskich relacji intra muros, trwający co najmniej od upadku ZSRR. Ich inicjatorami byli emigranci ze Wschodu (pojawili się na przykład w nowych motywach literatur iberyjskich), przeważnie Ukraińcy. Poza Półwyspem do międzykulturowych spotkań dochodziło m.in. dzięki znacznej ekspansji na Wschód przedstawicieli iberyjskich kół biznesowych. Już w XXI wieku zainicjowano i szeroko rozpropagowano w Hiszpanii i Portugalii iberyjsko‑słowiańskie badania porównawcze. Tego typu działalność, zawsze powiązana ze spotkaniami międzykulturowymi, pomaga w wypracowaniu formuły zarówno badawczej, jak i kulturowej, użytecznej w tworzeniu bardziej koherentnych wizerunków Słowian. Nowo powstałe stowarzyszenia, instytucje, ośrodki naukowe i kulturalne, respektując złożoną tożsamość każdego z narodów słowiańskich, prezentują iberyjskim partnerom również obraz Słowian zjednoczonych. Ta właśnie tendencja pozwala przejść w niniejszej analizie od części pierwszej – „Przegląd” do drugiej – „Perspektywy”.
The article presents the results of archaeological research into an Alt Käbelich-type grave discovered in Chodlik, Karczmiska county, Lublin province. The pit contained layer burials of five individuals. The bone material included also horse remains. Other archaeological material contained fragments of clay utensils as well as pieces of metal and bone artefacts destroyed in fire. On the basis of 3D documentation, at attempt has been made to reconstruct the object by means of digital technology. The Chodlik discovery is a ontribution to the research into the occurrence of the Alt Käbelich type of graves and the concept of the so-called “house of the dead” in the Western Slavic Dominion.
Bearing in mind the interdisciplinary nature of the origin of Slavs, in the process of reviewing the issue in relation with archaeology, the debate and the results of research carried out by representatives of other areas of science must be taken into consideration. The goal of this article is a review of the published results of an analysis of fossil and contemporary genetic material, coupled with discussing interpretation thereof in relation with the issue at hand. The work presents a selection of surveys which, according to the author, provide representatives of humanities with insight into the latest state of research. The presentation is preceded by introductory information about the examined material and the analysis methods as well as the conditioning factors. A methodological challenge was faced in the form of connecting data provided by geneticists and the findings from other disciplines, including archaeology, as indicated in the final part of the article.
Wacław Aleksander Maciejowski (1792–1883) to ważna postać XIX-wiecz-nego polskiego i europejskiego życia naukowego oraz intelektualnego. Był on historykiem prawa, przedstawicielem szkoły historycznej w prawoznawstwie, założonej przez uczonych niemieckich Karla Friedricha Eichhorna i Friedricha Carla von Savigny’ego. Preferował badanie historii ustroju i prawa oraz ściśle z nią związaną historię kultury. Pozostawił po sobie również około 240 prac i artykułów z zakresu słowianoznawstwa. Tezy i opinie zawarte w slawistycznych pracach Maciejowskiego zdobyły znaczny rozgłos w świecie słowiańskim. W niniejszym artykule przybliżono poglądy uczonego na temat dawnej Rosji i Słowiańszczyzny, zawarte przezeń w najważniejszych dziełach powstałych w okresie do połowy lat 40. XIX wieku. Maciejowski żywił określoną sympatię do Rosji i podziw dla jej dokonań. Warto jednak podkreślić, że podobny stosunek widać u uczonego do Sło-wiańszczyzny w ogóle. Opowiadał się on za współpracą między narodami słowiańskimi. Realizację idei kulturalnej „wzajemności słowiańskiej” dostrzegał w bezpośrednich kontak-tach między Słowianami – przedstawicielami nauki i kultury. Sam miał rozległe kontakty naukowo-towarzyskie z uczonymi, z ludźmi pióra. W Rosji do grona jego intelektualnych dyskutantów i zarazem przyjaciół należeli m.in. Michaił Pogodin, Piotr Kiriejewski, Stie-pan Szewyriow. O ile w rzeczonym okresie Maciejowski jako rusofilizujący słowianofil był narażony na krytykę ze strony Polaków, o tyle w Rosji bardzo pozytywnie oceniano jego dzieła, predyspozycje naukowe oraz fakt, że jak podkreślił Szewyriow – „pracuje z samozaparciem i służy szlachetnej sprawie słowiańskiej”. Duża popularność polskiego uczonego w państwie rosyjskim wynikała z wymowy jego dzieł i nie chodzi tutaj tylko o takie ich fragmenty, które można było wyzyskać do celów doraźnych. Wskazywano przede wszystkim na bardziej uniwersalne walory prac Maciejowskiego: na akcentowanie pierwiastka ogólnosłowiańskiego (Historia prawodawstw słowiańskich) i na fakt zary-sowania prymatu żywiołu rosyjskiego w świecie słowiańskim (głównie w Pamiętnikach o dziejach, piśmiennictwie i prawodawstwie Słowian).
EN
Wacław Aleksander Maciejowski (1792–1883) was an important figure in nineteenth-century Polish and European scientific and intellectual life. He was a legal historian and representative of the historical school of jurisprudence founded by German scholars Karl Friedrich Eichhorn and Friedrich Carl von Savigny. He preferred the study of the legal history system and closely related cultural history and completed about 240 works and articles in the field of Slavic studies. The theses and opinions contained in Maciejowski’s Slavic works evoked a significant reaction in the Slavic world. This article introduces the scholar’s views on old Russia and Slavs contained in his most important works created in the mid-1840s. Maciejowski had a certain sympathy for Russia and admiration for its achievements. It is worth emphasizing, however, that a similar attitude can be seen in the scholar’s approach to Slavs in general. He was in favour of cooperation between the Slavic peoples. He noticed the implementation of the cultural idea of “Slavic reciprocity” in direct contacts between the Slavs – representatives of science and culture. He had extensive scientific and social contacts with scholars and writers. In Russia, his intellectual debaters and friends included Michaił Pogodin, Piotr Kiriejewski and Stiepan Shevryriov. In this period, Maciejowski, as a Russophilizing Slavophile, came under criticism from Poles, although in Russia his works, scientific predispositions and the fact that, as Shevryriov emphasized, “he works with self-denial and serves a noble Slavic cause” were very positively assessed. The great popularity of this Polish scholar in Russia resulted from the publication of his complete works and not merely fragments that could be used for short-term purposes. Above all, the more universal values of Maciejowski’s works were noted: the accent on the Slavic element (History of Slavic Legislation) and the fact that the primacy of the Russian element in the Slavic world was emphasized (mainly in Memoirs of History, Literature and Legislation of the Slavs).
The topic of the paper is the interpretation of the motivation for the personal names of certain mythological beings in curses and phrases of Slavic peoples. Curses, as well as certain phraseologisms, can preserve the names long-forgotten in the mythical and religious systems. However, due to their lapidarity and lack of ritual context, these names create the opportunity for different interpretations. The paper analyzes the meanings of names, with a mythological connotation: Maren, Ivan/Jovan,Andjelija,Jana/Janja, and Vid/Vidok.
This contribution brings survey of historical sources, findings of archaeology, linguistics, religionistics and especially ethnography. It also includes an informative survey of research evolution with references to essential literature. It tries to point out that synthesis of findings of humanities is absolutely neccessary because none of the mentioned disciplines can continue in separate research effectively. Only interdisciplinarity can bring successful findings in the future.
This article attempts to succinctly characterize and evaluate the last one hundred published annuals of the Slavonic Review journal, which was founded in Prague in 1898. The journal was initially conceived as an interdisciplinary publication, and in the first half-century of its publication it offered a wide spectrum of current information about cultural and social events in the Slavic lands. Since 1964 the Slavonic Review has been a scholarly journal that specializes in the history of the nations of Central, East and Southeast Europe. It also devotes a fair deal of attention to the study of inter-Slavic relations and the history of Slavic studies. The journal is open to researchers from the Czech Republic as well as from abroad. It prints contributions in Czech, Slovak, and English.
Complex relations of a lie and a human world are a big topic in literature and myths. Firstly this topic is open in a broader and more general sense with a ques-tion on a lie being a defect or a competence. Next the author applies philological and historic approach in reading ancient Indo European and particularly Slavon-ic mythological traditions and he observes an unusual type of the lie closely re-lated to wisdom and authority. He tries to add heavenly wily lawyers, which lie or commit perjury with beneficial cosmogonic or sociogenic effect, to the Dumézil´s catalogue of unusual characters of Indo European mythology. Some characters from selected Slavonic mythopoetic traditions are pointed out.
This article attempts to succinctly characterize and evaluate the last one hundred published annuals of the Slavonic Review journal, which was founded in Prague in 1898. The journal was initially conceived as an interdisciplinary publication, and in the first half-century of its publication it offered a wide spectrum of current information about cultural and social events in the Slavic lands. Since 1964 the Slavonic Review has been a scholarly journal that specializes in the history of the nations of Central, East and Southeast Europe. It also devotes a fair deal of attention to the study of inter- Slavic relations and the history of Slavic studies. The journal is open to researchers from the Czech Republic as well as from abroad. It prints contributions in Czech, Slovak, and English.
This paper examines the phenomenon of prone burial in early medieval Poland in the period between the 10th and 13th centuries. Among individuals treated this way were mainly adult men, but several examples of prone burials of females have also been discovered. Over the years prone burials from Poland have been interpreted by many archaeologists in the light of so-called ‘antivampire’ practices which were allegedly intended to protect the society against the living dead. By adopting an intercultural perspective, this article seeks to nuance these one-sided views and attempts to demonstrate that prone burials may have held a much wider range of meanings. It is argued that they may have been burials of criminals or various social deviants and that in some instances they could have perhaps signalled a religious and post-mortem act of penance
This paper provides a brief overview of past and recent studies on the archaeology of cult and ritual in Poland. It discusses some of the most important publications and scholarly initiatives that have been shaping current approaches to various aspects of pre-Christian beliefs and it also attempts to predict future research trajectories
The article concerns the document of the Patriarch of Aquileia Poppo from 1031, which mentions, among other things, a place called villa Sclavorum (Villa of the Slavs). The Latin content of the document was quoted with a translation into Polish. In addition to the characteristics and translation of the document, it is presented in a historical context and against the background of the Slavic settlement in north-eastern Italy in the Middle Ages.
After the tumultuous events of 1018 – ousting Prince Mstivoj or Mestwin (Polish: Mściwoj) from power and eliminating the Christian influences – the history of the Obotrites (Latin: Obotriti) again became vague and obscure. The efforts undertook by Nakon and continued by Mstivoj focussed to create an effective and strong autochthonous political organisation was – in large measure – squandered. There appeared some particularistic interests, including the activities of the union of the Lutici (it is worth remembering the collapse of Mstivoj was their doings); those interests had been held back and now the traditions of independency of the tribes included in the Obotrite Union revived. The sources through which it is possible to penetrate into several decades of the Obotrite history after 1018 are not numerous, generally not very informative, in some cases not consistent or even contradictory, last but least they are not always reliable.
The article examines Hitler’s views on Poland and Poles from the emergence of the Nazism in 1919 till the end of the Second World War. Almost from the very beginning of his political activity the attitude of the NSDAP leader was areflection of his concept of foreign policy based as it was on nationalistic and racist premises. Its objective was to ensure a“living space” for the Germans in the eastern part of Europe through the Reich’s conquest of the vast territory of the Soviet Union. In those far-reaching plans for territorial conquest, for many years (almost till the end of the inter-war period) Hitler attributed to Poland the role of Germany’s supporter and ally, though he also laid some territorial claims to Poland’s territory (the question of Gdańsk and the Pomeranian corridor). Even before Hitler became Chancellor of the Reich, many of his statements contained clear anti-Slavic sentiments. However, until about 1938 he did not treat Poland as an enemy of the Reich — in contrast to his attitude to the Soviet Union and France. As long as Hitler hoped for Poland’s accession to the pact against the Soviet Union, he refrained from any military action against Poland. Yet already from the mid-1930s he saw Poland as an obstacle to the implementation of Germany’s imperialist plans in the eastern part of Europe. Hitler’s negative attitude to Poland and Poles was revealed fully during World War II, when he launched his brutal policy aiming to exterminate the Polish nation.
In the basins of the Middle and Upper Obra, Barycz and Middle Prosna Rivers, there are numerous fortified settlements which time of construction and activity fell within the so-called tribal period. In the literature on the subject, the view prevails, according to which they were seats of the tribal aristocracy. This paper presents a different approach, which focuses on the social and symbolic context of the presence of these structures in the early medieval landscape. The analysis of the form of the fortified settlements and their location in the settlement structure of the discussed area in the 9th and 10th centuries, was the starting point for the considerations. The considerations also take into account the potential functions of features discovered within the ramparts of the examined fortified settlements. They resulted in the recognition of the fortified settlements as multifunctional central places of tribal communities, and their potential functions were: a place of holding people’s assemblies and religious practices, a treasury, a point of military resistance, and perhaps also a market square and a residence of selected people. The collapse of these fortified settlements can be associated with the consolidation of the Polish state in the times of Bolesław I the Brave and the translocation of the population to the vicinity of large centres of ducal power.
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